Published: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 8:47 p.m.

ROSMAN — Snug in his harness, Nathan Crankshaw clipped on his carabiner, pushed off from a wooden platform and coasted out over the river below on a 420-foot zip line nicknamed "The Screamer."

Part of Transylvania County's newest outdoor attraction, Z-Z-Zip! LLC, "The Screamer" is the grand finale of a multi-stage treetop canopy tour that's scheduled to open this weekend on 25 acres owned by Carl and Lois Ganner overlooking the upper French Broad.

Crankshaw didn't scream, but as one of two Brevard College seniors helping the Ganners run their fledgling operation, he's been down the cable a few times. Still, he admits the test runs never fail to get his heart pumping.

"It's pretty exciting," Crankshaw said Tuesday after unclipping himself. "Once you're hanging out over the river, you can feel the adrenaline, even after you've done it a few times."

Z-Z-Zip isn't the highest, fastest or longest zip line in Western North Carolina — those superlatives probably go to Saluda's The Gorge or Barnardsville's Navitat Canopy Adventures. But that wasn't really the goal, according to Z-Z-Zip partner and designer Jim Fox.

"This one is not about scare-your-pants-off, big, long rides," said Fox. "We wanted this to be a soft introduction to zip line canopy tours. It eases you into the heights and the longer runs. You never are really at a point 400 feet off the ground. It's a gentle transition, you can see where you're going and it makes for a nice, fun ride through the forest."

There may be crazier rides regionally, but Z-Z-Zip and its local livery partner, Headwaters Outfitters, are offering the first combined paddle/zip lining adventure package in WNC. Paddlers can canoe or kayak down to the Ganners from Rosman for a zip tour, then continue downstream to their pickup spot.

"I've been looking and there's definitely nothing like it in Western North Carolina," said Allie Kozak, Headwaters' director of operations. "A lot of places will offer zip lining and paddling separately, but not as a combined trip. It's totally unique. We're grateful they approached us (about a partnership), because it's a great dual activity for river lovers."

A light bulb moment

When the Ganners purchased their peninsula of land between the East Fork of the French Broad and the main river in 2002, they never envisioned it would become a zip course.

It was too hard to get to; during the hurricane-spawned floods of 2004, Carl Ganner was stranded for 13 days before a neighbor could tow his truck across the swollen East Fork.

"We hired Jim Fox to improve our access during rainy weather by building a suspension bridge," Carl Ganner said. "We were walking the property with him and when we got to the top of the mountain, he said, ‘You know, this would make the perfect place to put a treetop canopy tour.' It was a real light bulb moment."

Fox knew a good thing when he saw it. He started building climbing walls and ropes courses for summer camps in 1991, which led to a career with Asheville's The Adventure Group, designing and building outdoor recreational features. In 2005, he started Fox Frameworks, specializing in ropes courses, tree houses, rappel towers, waterslides, bouldering walls and zip lines.

The Z-Z-Zip adventure he designed begins with a low ropes course at the top of the mountain, created to build group confidence and problem-solving abilities. While staffing a residential facility in South Carolina for abused and neglected boys, Carl Ganner saw how the series of team-building challenges worked magic on unruly youths.

"When I got there, there was a lot of inter-cottage bickering," Ganner said. "We put in a low ropes course and a month later, it was a night-and-day difference."

Beginning a short walk from the ropes course, the first zip travels 100 feet of cable to a wooden perch halfway up a beech trunk. From there, visitors traverse a net bridge to a third platform, where they're tethered — in three places, for added safety — to another zip trolley and ride 130 feet through a corridor of poplar, birch and sourwood.

The next challenge is skirting a 40-foot "Burma bridge" — three interlaced wires, one at their feet, two at waist level — to a fifth platform, where visitors clip in and ride 140 feet to a sixth landing zone. Next comes "The Long Man," an 830-foot zip down the mountainside, over a Plains Indian teepee and across a short section of the East Fork to a waiting staff member.

Roughly 2 1/2 hours in, the Z-Z-Zip course ends with a trip down "The Screamer," which crosses the French Broad's deep and dark "Simon Hole" and offers upstream views of the historic Eastatoe Ford, which Cherokee Indians used to cross the river during times of low water. Wildlife such as great blue heron, beaver, otter and raptors are not uncommon sights.

"We saw a baby eagle up at the ford," said Lois Ganner. "I thought, ‘What is that?' And then it flapped its wings and we realized it was an eagle."

The treetop canopy tour alone is $59, which can be booked by calling Z-Z-Zip at 828-855-7913. Reservations for the paddling/zip line adventure, which costs $99, should be made by calling Headwaters Outfitters at 828-877-3106.

For more information, visit www.z-z-zip.com or www.headwatersoutfitters.com.

<p>ROSMAN — Snug in his harness, Nathan Crankshaw clipped on his carabiner, pushed off from a wooden platform and coasted out over the river below on a 420-foot zip line nicknamed "The Screamer."</p><p>Part of Transylvania County's newest outdoor attraction, Z-Z-Zip! LLC, "The Screamer" is the grand finale of a multi-stage treetop canopy tour that's scheduled to open this weekend on 25 acres owned by Carl and Lois Ganner overlooking the upper French Broad.</p><p>Crankshaw didn't scream, but as one of two Brevard College seniors helping the Ganners run their fledgling operation, he's been down the cable a few times. Still, he admits the test runs never fail to get his heart pumping.</p><p>"It's pretty exciting," Crankshaw said Tuesday after unclipping himself. "Once you're hanging out over the river, you can feel the adrenaline, even after you've done it a few times."</p><p>Z-Z-Zip isn't the highest, fastest or longest zip line in Western North Carolina — those superlatives probably go to Saluda's The Gorge or Barnardsville's Navitat Canopy Adventures. But that wasn't really the goal, according to Z-Z-Zip partner and designer Jim Fox.</p><p>"This one is not about scare-your-pants-off, big, long rides," said Fox. "We wanted this to be a soft introduction to zip line canopy tours. It eases you into the heights and the longer runs. You never are really at a point 400 feet off the ground. It's a gentle transition, you can see where you're going and it makes for a nice, fun ride through the forest."</p><p>There may be crazier rides regionally, but Z-Z-Zip and its local livery partner, Headwaters Outfitters, are offering the first combined paddle/zip lining adventure package in WNC. Paddlers can canoe or kayak down to the Ganners from Rosman for a zip tour, then continue downstream to their pickup spot.</p><p>"I've been looking and there's definitely nothing like it in Western North Carolina," said Allie Kozak, Headwaters' director of operations. "A lot of places will offer zip lining and paddling separately, but not as a combined trip. It's totally unique. We're grateful they approached us (about a partnership), because it's a great dual activity for river lovers."</p><p>A light bulb moment</p><p>When the Ganners purchased their peninsula of land between the East Fork of the French Broad and the main river in 2002, they never envisioned it would become a zip course. </p><p>It was too hard to get to; during the hurricane-spawned floods of 2004, Carl Ganner was stranded for 13 days before a neighbor could tow his truck across the swollen East Fork.</p><p>"We hired Jim Fox to improve our access during rainy weather by building a suspension bridge," Carl Ganner said. "We were walking the property with him and when we got to the top of the mountain, he said, 'You know, this would make the perfect place to put a treetop canopy tour.' It was a real light bulb moment."</p><p>Fox knew a good thing when he saw it. He started building climbing walls and ropes courses for summer camps in 1991, which led to a career with Asheville's The Adventure Group, designing and building outdoor recreational features. In 2005, he started Fox Frameworks, specializing in ropes courses, tree houses, rappel towers, waterslides, bouldering walls and zip lines.</p><p>The Z-Z-Zip adventure he designed begins with a low ropes course at the top of the mountain, created to build group confidence and problem-solving abilities. While staffing a residential facility in South Carolina for abused and neglected boys, Carl Ganner saw how the series of team-building challenges worked magic on unruly youths.</p><p>"When I got there, there was a lot of inter-cottage bickering," Ganner said. "We put in a low ropes course and a month later, it was a night-and-day difference."</p><p>Beginning a short walk from the ropes course, the first zip travels 100 feet of cable to a wooden perch halfway up a beech trunk. From there, visitors traverse a net bridge to a third platform, where they're tethered — in three places, for added safety — to another zip trolley and ride 130 feet through a corridor of poplar, birch and sourwood.</p><p>The next challenge is skirting a 40-foot "Burma bridge" — three interlaced wires, one at their feet, two at waist level — to a fifth platform, where visitors clip in and ride 140 feet to a sixth landing zone. Next comes "The Long Man," an 830-foot zip down the mountainside, over a Plains Indian teepee and across a short section of the East Fork to a waiting staff member. </p><p>Roughly 2 1/2 hours in, the Z-Z-Zip course ends with a trip down "The Screamer," which crosses the French Broad's deep and dark "Simon Hole" and offers upstream views of the historic Eastatoe Ford, which Cherokee Indians used to cross the river during times of low water. Wildlife such as great blue heron, beaver, otter and raptors are not uncommon sights. </p><p>"We saw a baby eagle up at the ford," said Lois Ganner. "I thought, 'What is that?' And then it flapped its wings and we realized it was an eagle."</p><p>The treetop canopy tour alone is $59, which can be booked by calling Z-Z-Zip at 828-855-7913. Reservations for the paddling/zip line adventure, which costs $99, should be made by calling Headwaters Outfitters at 828-877-3106. </p><p>For more information, visit www.z-z-zip.com or www.headwatersoutfitters.com.</p>